Cold Desert
by Gater101
Summary: Sequel to "Linger". She's finally given up just as much as him but is he willing to take the next step?
1. Chapter 1

Title: Cold Desert  
Summary: Sequel to "Linger". She's finally given up as much as him but will he be ready to take the next step?  
Characters/Pairing: Everyone, Max/Liz  
Rating: Mature  
Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell or any of the publically recognised characters. Jason Katims et al do :)  
A/N: This will be told in ten parts... Enjoy :)

**Conversation With a Class 5.1**

Moving to San Francisco had seemed to Liz to be a non-issue. It had taken her a grand total of three hours serious meditation, another three weeks to sort everything out with the university, the lab and her publishing company. When the last semester of school was over, it had taken Liz a grand total of two days to move into the apartment it had taken Max five months to find.

"I've been here for seven weeks, Maria," she grumbled into her cell phone as she scooped ice cream into her mouth from the tub that rested on her belly. "He hasn't laid a hand on me. He even bought an apartment with two bedrooms! He makes me sleep in the other bedroom, Maria."

Maria snorted and Liz glowered, hoping Maria would pick it up through the thousands of miles of static air space between them.

"I thought you two were doing the 'friends' thing?"

Liz sighed. Truth be told, Maria was right. They had decided, on New Year's Day seven months ago, to concentrate on their friendship first and let everything else fall into place as time went on. And Liz had thought things had been going well. There had been a rough patch when she had told him she wanted to relocate to San Francisco for him ('_But everything you want – everything you've worked for – is in Boston_!' but since then, things had been looking up. She'd taken a job teaching at SFU and was looking into research grants in the area and her publishing company had transferred her to their local office. Max had relented on the separate beds rule a few times and even let her snuggle up against his chest. But those instances were growing fewer and farther between.

"Yeah well..." She sighed. "It's difficult to keep the friends thing going when I can feel how much he wants me poking me in the back every time I walk by him." Maria snorted again and Liz huffed. "It's not funny, Maria!" She stuck her spoon into the ice cream and deposited the half empty tub on the floor. "It's killing me."

"I know, I'm sorry. But you have to know it's taking all of my energy right now not to call you out on your horniness, right?"

Liz nodded, despite knowing that Maria couldn't see her. She _was_ horny and, as she had said, it didn't help that she could feel Max's hard dick poking into her whenever he brushed against her, which was quite a fucking lot. So she _knew_ he wanted her but she didn't know what it was that was holding him back.

A part of her thought it might have been his friends. Or rather, one of his friends. Liz wasn't stupid; she knew that Tessa Harding didn't like her and Max let the blonde bend his ear far too often for Liz's liking. But she had never said anything to him because really, who was she to tell him who he could and couldn't be friends with? But Liz couldn't help but wonder what – if anything – Tess was saying about her.

"What am I going to do, Maria?" She took a breath. "I gave up my life out there for him and... Now I'm just scared that he only wants me as his friend." Liz had expected Maria to console her so the stony silence that met her ears was a tad confusing. Liz waited for a long moment but when it became clear Maria wasn't going to break the silence, she spoke again. "Maria?"

"I... can't believe you just said that."

Liz frowned.

"Said what?"

"That his friendship isn't enough... That guy gave up his _dream_ for your friendship and you're whining because he's... No, it doesn't even matter."

Liz felt her stomach knot. Again, Maria was right. Max had literally given up everything (his first choice of university; what he really wanted to do; his future) for her and she was whining because of what? Because he was taking his time, that he was making sure that this – that [i]they[/i] – was what he wanted. She was being ridiculous. And petty. And selfish.

She scraped a hand down her face, clawing at the ends of her hair.

"You're right. You're right."

"Glad we cleared that up," Maria said, her tone only slightly less chilly than it had been. Liz winced. "Now... onto the bigger problem – and I assume it's a _big_ problem?"

From the inflection, Liz couldn't even pretend to be oblivious to Maria's allusion. She smirked to herself as she imagined the feel of it, the way it tented his trousers as it stood tall for her. She raised her eyebrow and quickly licked her lips.

"Oh yeah. It's a _big one."_

Maria cackled on the other end of the line and Liz joined her after a startled moment.

"That's what I like to hear... Now, this is what we're going to do..."


	2. Chapter 2

Part Two  
_Organised Chaos_

"This is not a good idea," Liz grumbled to herself as she sorted through the racks in front of her. "Does she think I'm made of money?" She continued quietly, stealing a glance at her dormant cell. Maria had promised to call at some point during Liz's 'shopping trip of epic proportions' but Liz's trip was coming to a close and Maria still hadn't called.

"Can I help you?" Liz's thoughts were interrupted by a young shop assistant and Liz's face instantly crimsoned as she slid the slinky underwear back on the rack.

"No, thank you." She made to turn away but the assistant leaned closer to Liz and smiled.

"Are you Liz?" The shocked look on Liz's face must have said it all because the assistant smiled politely again. "You're friend Maria called and mailed us a picture of you. She informed us that you may need a little help choosing some things for a special occasion?"

This... was beyond embarrassing.

"Um... I should be fine, thanks," Liz said with a polite smile and tried to turn away again to hide her flaming face.

She was going to _kill_ Maria. Like, seriously.

"She said you might be stubborn about this," the woman said quietly and Liz closed her eyes and barely resisted the urge to drop her head to the rail and groan loudly. Instead, she squinted out of the corner of her eye at the woman and nodded slightly. The woman smiled widely and stepped closer to Liz. "Why don't you take a seat in fitting room two? Your friend described the sort of things you would need; I'll bring in a few collections for you."

Liz made to protest but the woman was already away and Liz was left looking around. As she made her way to fitting room two, she thought of what Maria had told the woman and as she glanced at the racks of string and lace and... leather? Oh _God_... She didn't even want to think about what Maria had told this woman. In the fitting room, she left the door slightly ajar and sat on the leather armchair and tried to void studying her reflection in the mirrors that surrounded her. She fiddled with her phone again and was tempted to ring Maria and give her a piece of her mind but just as she pulled Maria's number up, the assistant appeared in the doorway with an armful of 'collections'.

"I guessed at your size and what styles would suit you, try them all on. Some of the designs might surprise you."

She set the bundle on a small folding table in the corner, picking up a few bras to hang on hooks on the back of the door. Liz looked at them with a critical eye – they weren't anywhere near as bad as she had thought they were going to be. She had expected peep-holes and crotch-less. Maybe some red PVC but it seemed Maria had come through for her. The assistant – Tanya – tossed a smile over her shoulder before she retreated out the door, telling Liz she would be outside if she needed any help.

With sigh, Liz stood and shed her top layers (there was no way she was trying on the panties) and picked up the first bra that came to her hand. It was soft both in style, feel and colour. She was sure the pale blue lace would look odd against her skin but she sucked in a deep breath and tried it on. She shimmied into the bra, lifting herself into the cup then studied her reflection. It really was a nice bra, fitting her perfectly but she wasn't sure about the colour; she would prefer it to be a little darker. She sighed and took it off, dropping it into an area that would now be the 'maybe' pile and picked up another of the pile.

It took her fifteen minutes to try them all on and there still wasn't a 'no' pile. The maybe pile and the 'yes' pile had grown exponentially and she sighed as she looked at the number of bras in the pile. She pulled her tee shirt on – foregoing her bra – and opened the door, beckoning for Tanya. The young woman came over and smiled, tilting her head slightly.

"The blue one," Liz said and turned to the maybe pile, searching through it for the first bra she had tried on, "do you have it in a darker colour?"

Tanya studied it for a second then pursed her lips.

"We have it in a deep purple or a navy blue with black detail around the edges."

Liz nodded slightly.

"Could you get me the darker blue?"

The woman nodded then skipped away. Liz fingered the bra in her hands; it had been her favourite of them all, apart from the colour and she knew that Max would appreciate it. It was sexy without being slutty and Liz felt good when she was in it. She knew she didn't have a great deal of boob but when she had worn that one, she felt proud of what she did have.

"Here you go," Tanya said as she reappeared at the door, handing Liz the bra and matching lace panties. She smiled as she took them in – they were perfect.

In the end, Liz chose seven new sets – the dark blue, two black, a white, a pink and purple, a soft yellow and a daring red. They weren't obviously sexy or over the top but... they would do the job. She took them to the cash desk, where Tanya was waiting and chatting with another member of staff.

She smiled as Liz approached and nodded to the collection in her arms.

"Your friend paid a hundred dollars of it already so we'll just subtract that from the total of this."

"What?" Liz asked as she tucked the bundle back under her arms. There was no way she was letting Maria pay for this. No chance.

Tanya smiled again and pointed to the computer screen.

"She said to tell you it was an early Christmas gift." Liz hesitated. "It's non-refundable, if you don't let us subtract it from your total, it will go to waste."

And that settled it. Liz reluctantly set down the items and fished her cell out of her bag, sending Maria a quick text of thanks as Tanya rang it up.

When Liz left the store, bags in hand, Maria responded with a cheerful

**Merry Christmas, five months early.**

--

The plan couldn't be set in motion until Max came back from his trip but Liz had decided to wear the new underwear and clothes, anyway. She felt good in them and she would admit that she _looked_ good in them. She had called Maria when she'd gotten home from the shopping trip and given her a piece of her mind, despite her text of thanks, for paying so much for Liz's extravagance. Maria had laughed and told her to suck it up.

Secretly, Liz was glad because she couldn't really afford the clothes that she had bought. Well, she could but... It just meant that she'd made more of a dent in her account than she would have liked, especially since she wasn't on pay roll at the university until the end of the month. But Maria had assured her that it was all for a good cause.

Liz just hoped it was.

--

Max came home from his trip a day later than he was expected. He had been gone for two weeks, travelling up and down the west coast looking at summer camp teams as they drew to a close. It had been a week since Liz's shopping trip and she had put the plan into motion the day before, in preparation for Max's return.

"What the hell happened here?" Max said as he wandered into the lounge, dropping his hold-all behind the sofa.

Liz jumped slightly at the sound of his voice, snapping her Nintendo DS shut with a click. She turned her head back to look at Max – who looked tired and lovely and all she wanted to do was jump up and wrap her arms around him and drag him off to bed – and smiled.

"What?" She asked as she stretched an arm up behind her to touch his arm. He leaned over the back of the sofa and brushed his lips across her hairline, his fingers trailing down her arm. She shivered at his touch and Max withdrew.

"There are clothes everywhere," he said as he settled on the sofa beside her, tucking her under his arm. Liz sighed at the contact and settled back against him, feeling waves of sleepiness creep over her at his warmth.

"I went shopping," she murmured and he chuckled.

"I can see that," he said quietly and ran his finger along them hem of the short shorts she was wearing. She shivered and tilted her head up to look at his face. He smiled tiredly down at her and stroked his fingers up and down her arm. "Start work next week?" He asked after long minutes of comfortable silence and Liz nodded against his chest. "Are you looking forward to it?" She nodded again and shifted herself closer to him and he compensated by drawing his legs up onto the sofa, tangling them with hers. "Are you tired?"

"A little," she said quietly, closing her eyes for a moment before she tilted her head up to look at him. He drew back slightly and looked down his nose to meet her eyes, a little smile playing around the edges of his lips. "I missed you," she murmured.

His eyes searched her face, his hand coming up to brush his fingers along her cheekbones before stroking through the hair at the base of her neck. She made sure not to close her eyes at the sensation of his touch and she wasn't disappointed when he leaned forward slowly, bumping his nose against hers.

"I missed you, too."

--

Aside from their snuggle session on the sofa almost a week ago, Max had barely touched Liz and Liz was getting frustrated again. She had left out the nicest of the new underwear, anywhere Max could see them – in the bathroom, on the radiators, over door handles – and nothing. _Nothing_.

She had called in the infantry and Maria had informed her it was time to up the ante, as it were. So here was Liz, in an attempt at getting ready for her new job, running around in stockings, a pencil skirt and one of the skimpy black bras, 'in search' of the nice black top that went with the skirt.

She rushed into the lounge, looking around at the radiators and the airer before rushing into the kitchen, where Max was leaning against the worktop in fitted jeans and a tee shirt, sipping from a cup of coffee. He looked up as Liz skidded to a halt in the doorway and promptly started coughing as he choked on his sip of coffee. His eyes were wide and glued to Liz's body and she tried to keep the smug smile from her face as she rifled through the basket of clothes sitting on the table.

"Liz..." he said lowly, his voice almost dangerous and it took all of Liz's will power not to whimper at his low growl. "What are you doing?" He questioned and Liz felt his presence at her back.

"Have you seen my black top? You know, the one with the satin neckline?"

"You mean the see through one?"

She snorted lightly and aimed a well practised glare over her shoulder at him. He was incredibly close to her – so close that she could feel his heat against her bare back and as she drew herself up, she could feel his hard body press against her back.

"It's not see through," she reprimanded him before leaning over again to search through the basket, where she knew the top was _not_. It was, in fact, in her bedroom, under a well placed plastic bag.

She heard Max groan lightly and she thought she felt his fingers on her hip but before she could react, he was moving away from her.

"It is and you know it." She turned to him then, placing her hands on her hips, marvelling at how easy all of this was coming to her. "And with that bra, your pupils today will be given quite the show."

Liz smirked.

"Who says it's the pupils who'll be getting the show?" His eyes darkened and he took a step towards her, his brow crinkling in something akin to confusion. "I just want to make a good impression on the faculty."

"A good impression?" She nodded and tried to subtly gulp as he took another step towards her. "The all male faculty?" She nodded again. His eyes raked up and down her body, settling for four long seconds on her hardening nipples. He smirked. "You'll certainly make an impression."

She smirked again and leaned back slightly on the table, jutting her chest out.

"Did I make an impression on you?"

His eyes travelled over her body again and his lips pursed as he attempted not to smile and Liz felt her breath coming in short rasps as his scorching gaze swept over to her. He stepped up to her then, one arm sliding around her waist as the other travelled down the outside of her thigh, stopping for a moment to finger the lacy edge of her stockings. He groaned and sighed hissed as he rubbed his hardening length against her stomach.

"I like you in black, Liz..." he murmured darkly, his head dipping down to her neck and Liz half expected his lips on her skin so when he breathed heavily onto her skin instead, she couldn't bite back the groan that escaped her lips. He paused for a long moment before drawing back from her and smirking. "You better get dressed or you'll be late."

--

At breakfast a few days later, Liz's early morning cereal eating was interrupted by Max's angry "What the hell are you wearing?"

She looked down to the tight white shirt, through which she knew her red bra was visible (she had her tailored waistcoat hanging up in her room ready to don but Max didn't need to know that) and the pencil skirt she'd teased him with the other day.

"I have a meeting with the dean," she explained as she set her bowl of cereal down. "Do I look okay? Should I take it off?" She skimmed her hands over the shirt, revelling in Max's ill-concealed groan.

"Oh God, definitely." She drew back in mock offence and Max stepped towards her. "But not for the reasons you're thinking," he growled.

Liz had expected at least some kind of reaction from him but when he covered her hands with his own, she was more than a little shocked. He dragged her hands from her waist to her stomach and the breath caught in her throat when Max's thumbs skimmed over her protruding nipples. He leaned in further, dropping his face to her neck and Liz gasped when she felt his flat tongue on her pulse point. She shifted and his hard cock rubbed against her hip and Max hissed and bit into her skin lightly causing Liz to smirk but just as she thought he was about to give in, he pulled back quickly and kissed her forehead.

He was out of the apartment before Liz's breathing returned to normal.

As Liz left for work twenty minutes later, she wondered which of them it was that was playing games


End file.
